GET the best night’s sleep, every night. Nicole Shallow is a behavior analyst, sleep specialist, and sleep blogger for Your Behaviour Gal. Shallow spoke exclusively with The Sun to share five easy tips to ensure you sleep better and wake up feeling refreshed. “The common reasons adults have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep are […]
GET the best night’s sleep, every night.
Nicole Shallow is a behavior analyst, sleep specialist, and sleep blogger for Your Behaviour Gal.
Shallow spoke exclusively with The Sun to share five easy tips to ensure you sleep better and wake up feeling refreshed.
“The common reasons adults have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep are usually due to high stress and poor daily habits,” said Shallow.
She said these unhealthy habits can include sporadic eating, limited access to daylight, less movement due to a seated office job, and high-stress levels.
According to Shallow, insufficient sleep can lead to irritability, difficulty regulating emotions, and even reduced focus, concentration, reaction time, and creativity.
She said it can also lead to weight gain, a weakened immune system, hormonal dysregulation, and other physical health impacts.
Since it is ideal for adults to get between seven and nine hours of sleep, Shallow shared five changes to make in your environment and nighttime routine that will help improve your night’s rest.
Shallow said that sleeping in a cooler environment is most beneficial for our bodies.
“Our body temperature drops a few degrees at night,” she said.
“This is why it is so hard to sleep in the summertime, so having an air conditioner is ideal, but using a fan, or lightweight sheets and cooling mattresses are helpful.”
As for sleeping positions, Shallow said it is best to sleep on your side or your back.
“Sleeping on your back or side helps to keep your spine supported and allows your muscles to relax,” she said.
“Sleeping on your back is not recommended for people who are overweight, sleep apnea, pregnant, acid reflux, or back pain.”
“In a perfect world, silence or consistent noise is the best for sleeping,” she said.
“If sound changes through the night this can cause you to wake up and may have difficulty falling back to sleep.”
Shallow recommended sleeping with a non-loop white noise machine or a steady fan to block out any noise that might risk waking you up.
“Social media, texting, and gaming on the phone can be quite activating for the brain, making it difficult to wind down and get to sleep,” said the sleep specialist.
She recommends reducing blue light two hours before you plan to go to bed.
To help with this, she suggested turning on night shift mode on your devices, reading a book instead of watching TV, and dimming the lights around your home at night.
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To prevent getting up in the middle of the night, the sleep expert shared three steps to take before bed to help you stay asleep.
“Limit fluids about two hours before bed, avoid eating large meals about one to two hours before bed, and practice meditation to support you in learning to quiet the mind,” she said.
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